


Gone Fishing

by UmbreonGurl



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Crack Taken Seriously, Edeleth, F/F, Modern AU, bass pro shop au, no beta we die like Glenn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-08
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:13:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24081118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UmbreonGurl/pseuds/UmbreonGurl
Summary: In which Edelgard goes to buy a fishing rod for her brother and gets so much more.AKAAnd they met at the Bass Pro Shop. Oh my god they met at the Bass Pro Shop.
Relationships: Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 16
Kudos: 197





	Gone Fishing

**Author's Note:**

> Here it is. My one contribution to the Edeleth fandom. Please make sure you have creator's style enabled, as I use workskins for texting in this fic. :)

Edelgard von Hresvelg knows she is way over her head from the moment she steps through the glass doors of the Bass Pro Shop. 

It’s massive, a jungle of camping equipment, hunting gear and just about anything any nature enthusiast could possibly need. It’s a bit overwhelming, actually.

It’s strange, really. She’s perfectly at home at a conference room full of businessmen, unphased by the whirlwind of board meetings and conference calls, but she doesn’t have the slightest idea of even where to start looking for Dimitri’s birthday present. 

She does know one thing, though. Dimitri most definitely needs a new fishing rod.

She doesn’t know whether it's his stubborn insistence on using things until they break, or some sentimental attachment to the thing, but he still uses the tiny little Barbie rod their mother had given him as a child. Perhaps it’s some sort of superstition. All fishermen have their good luck charms, from what she knows.

While Edelgard is no fisherman (lord knows she’s never been one for the outdoors) she knows it’s well past time for an upgrade. But what to upgrade to, exactly, she doesn’t have the slightest clue.

She quickly makes her way past the hunting and camping gear, past the camo clothes and the kids’ section full of figurines and plushies, and before she knows it, she’s surrounded by row after row of fishing rods.

They come in all colors, sizes and all sorts of materials, and as she glances at the price tags, she winces slightly. She’s by no means strapped for cash, but these aren’t cheap. She’ll want to choose wisely.

Edelgard quickly makes her way past the saltwater reels. Dimitri definitely won’t need something made for the ocean for bass fishing. 

The fly fishing rods are quickly passed by as well. That kind of thing is not only out of her league, but out of Dimitri’s as well.

It must be clear as day to the woman behind the counter that Edelgard has absolutely no idea what she is doing, because it’s not long after she starts wandering the aisles that she’s approached.

The woman points to the reel and rod combo Edelgard had been eyeing and Edelgard braces herself for the sales pitch on why she should buy it.

It never comes.

“That one’s shit,” the woman (Byleth, reads her nametag) says instead. “Breaks as soon as you get a decent fish on the line.”

Edelgard loses whatever words she had prepared to respond in one fell swoop.

“I appreciate your honesty,” she eventually settles with. “What would you recommend, then?”

“Depends on what you’re looking for, really. I would definitely not recommend anything in this aisle. The prebuilts are all Walmart quality. They won’t last you very long and charge you a premium just for slapping the pieces together.” Byleth pauses briefly before turning towards Edelgard. “What’s your usual target? Bass? Carp? Catfish? Trout?”

“I’m actually not a fisherman,” says Edelgard. “My brother is, though. That’s why I’m here, actually. I’m looking to get him a new rod.”

“What’s his usual target, then?” asks Byleth, as she gestures for Edelgard to follow. 

“Bass,” says Edelgard, as she follows behind. “He likes to go to the local park and fish at the pond.”

“Ah,” says Byleth, with a knowing nod. “We’re looking for some light tackle then.”

Byleth pauses briefly to think before turning back to Edelgard. “Does he usually use lures or bait?”

“Bait,” answers Edelgard. She can vividly remember Mother being furious when Dimitri had torn up her garden all those times when he went looking for worms. “I’m not sure he’s ever used lures before.”

They make their way over to an aisle lined with packets of hooks, and Byleth glances between two packs before turning back to Edelgard once more.

“What size bass does your pond keep? Five pound? Ten pound? Thirty pound?”

The mere thought of Dimitri pulling in a thirty pound fish on a Barbie rod almost makes Edelgard want to laugh.

“I don’t know,” she answers, because it’s the truth. She doesn’t have the slightest idea. She can’t imagine the fish at the pond being massive, though. “Probably on the smaller end.”

“I’ll grab some mid-size hooks then,” says Byleth, grabbing a pack of hooks off the shelf. “They should be good for any small to mid-sized fish, and you can still hook a big one on them if you’re lucky.”

Byleth tucks the pack of fishing hooks under her arm before moving towards an aisle filled with spool after spool of line. Edelgard follows.

“I’m assuming your brother doesn’t do much in the way of topwater fishing since you said he doesn’t use lures,” she says, “We probably don’t want monofilament then. Braided line would be too visible unless you had heavy cover, which with a lure would work fine, but with bait… it isn’t ideal.”

Byleth fiddles with a few spools of line with a slight frown before settling on one. “How do you feel about fluorocarbon?” she says, as she holds one up, presumably for Edelgard to inspect.

“If that’s what you think is best, I’ll take it,” says Edelgard with a small shrug. “You’re the expert here. I don’t know anything about fishing.”

“You knew enough to come here,” says Byleth, as she moves the pack of hooks from under her arm and puts it on top of the spool of line in her other hand. “That’s already far better than the people who buy their rods at Target.”

Edelgard is definitely careful not to mention that she almost went to Target instead as they make their way out of the aisle.

They make a brief pit stop at the counter in the middle of the fishing section to drop off the hooks and the line, before they make their way towards the reels.

Byleth doesn’t even ask her anything this time, simply making her way towards a reel and holding it out for Edelgard with a “hold this”.

Edelgard takes it without a word, and it’s back to the fishing rods they go. The aisle they end up in is noticeably different from the one they started in, full of unassembled rods bare of everything but paint.

“You’ll want this one,” says Byleth, reaching for a medium sized blue fishing rod. “It’s graphite, mid-size, and it won’t break if you get something a little larger than intended.”

Byleth reaches to grab it off the shelf, before she pauses. “I forgot to mention this one’s a bit pricey. If you were looking for something on the cheaper end I can find you something else, but if it’s in your price range, it’s worth every penny. It’ll last you for years if you take good care of it.”

Edelgard glances at the price, and Byleth was right— it _is_ pricey. But she’s not short on money, and she already knows Dimitri’s face when she drops it in his lap will be priceless.

“I’m fine with it being a little pricey,” she says. 

Byleth nods and grabs the rod off the shelf, before she pauses again. 

“It comes in other colors as well, if you don’t want blue,” she says.

“Blue is fine,” says Edelgard. “It’s my brother’s favorite color, so it’s perfect, actually.”

“Great.”

Byleth reaches her hand out for Edelgard to hand her the reel, and the two of them make their way back towards the counter where the rest of their things are piled.

“Give me a few minutes and I’ll get everything set up for you,” says Byleth, as she leans down for some tools, propping the rod up against the counter.

“Thank you,” says Edelgard. “I appreciate it.”

Byleth pieces together the fishing rod bit by bit. The line is carefully put onto the reel and the reel is placed onto the rod. After, Byleth carefully threads the line through the hoops on the front. 

It’s methodical, and in a strange way, it’s a little mesmerizing to watch, Edelgard finds.

“You’re very good at that,” she says, before she can help herself.

_Of course she’s good at it. It’s her job, Edelgard. She’s going to think you’re stupid._

Byleth pops open the pack of hooks and grabs one, reaching for the end of the line.

“I’ve had a lot of practice,” she says, as she threads the line through the end of the hook and ties a knot. 

They quickly fall into silence, neither of them much for small talk, and Edelgard is never so grateful to feel her phone buzz in her pocket.

Brother Dearest  
  
**Today** 1:20 PM

Where are you? Claude is being particularly annoying and won’t stop nagging me to play Mario Kart. Help me.

Work ran late. I’ll be there soon. Fend him off.

Irritating  
  
**Today** 1:21 PM

lmao are u out buying the fishing rod??

Yes. Checking out now.

did you end up going to target or the bass pro shop? if you went to target i stg im disowning you

I went to the Bass Pro Shop, don’t you worry. I wouldn't want to get Dimitri anything less than the best. You already chewed me out for even thinking of going to Target, Claude.

cool

did you meet the hot bass pro shop lady btw

The hot Bass Pro Shop lady?

yeah theres a hot lady there who knows pretty much everything about fishing

she hooks me up with the BEST shit whenever i go

Edelgard glances up briefly. 

Byleth isn’t bad looking at all, and from what she saw, she’s the only person working that could arguably be called a “hot lady.” Unless Claude meant the grandmother working the kid’s area, Edelgard is pretty sure he must be talking about Byleth.

Irritating  
  
**Today** 1:22 PM

I’m pretty sure the hot Bass Pro Shop lady is the one who is helping me right now. Is Byleth the hot Bass Pro Shop lady?

yep thats her lol perfect that means ur getting the good shit

make sure to hurry up dimitris getting cranky that ur not here

dont get too distracted by hot bass pro shop lady ;)

Stop calling her that.

why

you don’t think she’s hot or smthn? cmon edelgard ik u better than that

Focus on keeping Dimitri distracted.

lol so you DO think she’s hot then??

“Alright, it’s all good to go.”

Edelgard glances up when Byleth announces she’s finished.

“Great,” says Edelgard, before she pauses. She forgot to ask Claude for his Bass Pro Rewards account info. “Do you mind waiting one moment before I pay? I’m pretty sure my friend has a Bass Pro Rewards account and I’d like to put the points for everything on it.”

“Sure,” says Byleth. 

Irritating  
  
**Today** 1:24 PM

I need to pay. What’s your rewards account email so I can put the points on your account?

Claude69420@seirosmail.com

If this is some sort of prank you’re dead.

it isnt

now hurry up dimitris getting impatient and i want my rewards points

Edegard puts her phone away in her pocket, and sees that Byleth is ready at the register.

“Do you have the rewards account email?” asks Byleth, as she types away on the keyboard, presumably pulling up whatever menu she needs to put in the information.

“Yes,” says Edelgard. “Claude sixty-nine four-twenty at Seiros mail dot com.”

At that, Byleth raises an eyebrow. “You’re friends with mister “hot bass pro shop lady” Claude?”

“Please don’t tell me he said that to your face.”

“He did. But he tips me well for assembling his rods, so I don’t mind. He’s one of my best customers, actually.”

Oh, Claude is _so_ dead.

Edelgard sighs. “He’s my brother’s boyfriend. Claude told me to go here when I told him I wanted to get my brother a fishing pole.”

“Ah,” says Byleth. 

The cash register beeps as it displays the total, and Edelgard digs through her wallet and hands over her credit card. 

She internally cringes as she sees the total. 

_Just think about Dimitri’s face when he sees it._

As Byleth swipes the card through the register, the walkie-talkie attached to her hip comes to life with a rush of static.

“ **Byleth, are you feeding the fish today?** ” comes a young man’s voice.

Byleth sighs as she hands Edelgard’s card back. “Sorry, I’ll have your receipt ready in just one moment.”

She grabs her walkie-talkie.

“Caspar,” she says. “Today is your day.”

There’s a bit of silence, then another burst of static through the speakers.

**“Ah shit. I wasn’t sure if it was my day, so I figured I’d check. I’ll get right on that.”**

“Sorry about that,” says Byleth, as she grabs the receipt and hands it over to Edelgard, along with the fishing rod. “My coworker forgot it was his day to run the fish feeding show.”

Byleth pulls out her phone to check the time. It’s 1:25.

“It should be starting in about five minutes, if you’re interested.”

“Unfortunately, I’m in a rush,” she says, and she’s not lying. Claude can only keep Dimitri distracted for so long. “Maybe another time, though? It sounds interesting.”

_You sound interesting._

Byleth smiles. “Next week I’ll be running it Tuesday and Thursday at seven.” 

Edelgard quickly opens up her phone and checks her calendar. 

She has a work dinner on Tuesday, so that’s a no-go. But Thursday… that could work.

“I can be there Thursday,” says Edelgard.

“Great,” replies Byleth.

As Edelgard walks out, her phone buzzes.

Irritating  
  
**Today** 1:26 PM

are you almost done like seriously

I’m done. Walking out now.

did you get distracted by hot bass pro shop lady

you did didnt you

Yes, actually.

you dont need to deny

wait what

I think we’re going on a date next Thursday at seven.

She invited me to watch her fish feeding show.

you don’t give a damn abt fish tho

or fishing

You’re right, but they’re not what interests me.

i fucking called it i KNEW youd like hot bass pro shop lady

About to get in the car to drive home. I have the goods. Ttyl.

you BET we gonna ttyl 

bitch you got a date at the bass pro shop i cannot believe you

Brother Dearest  
  
**Today** 1:27 PM

On my way now. Getting in car to drive. Ttyl.

**Author's Note:**

> I would say I'm sorry for this but I'm really not. At this point I had too much fun writing this in like a day and it was honestly refreshing. Writer's block who? Gonna get back to my longer projects now but this was fun!


End file.
